Lenten Campaign 2025
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Zimbabwe’s move to abolish the death penalty is a step towards improving the condition of the country’s prison system, the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe said in a recent statement.
On December 31, 2024, Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa abolished the death penalty in the country, after the Senate had voted earlier that month to end the practice. Zimbabwe had not executed anyone since 2005, but had about 60 people on death row as of the end of 2024, reported Fides, the information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies.
"The abolition of the death penalty in Zimbabwe is the result of cooperation and partnership between the Church, the government, and civil society," the Justice and Peace Commission said in a statement provided to Fides.
The abolition of the death penalty, said the statement, is “a means to an end: the promotion of a culture of life, dignity, and respect for all people.”
In addition to the abolition of the death penalty, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference is also calling for the improvement of living conditions in prisons, as well as “cooperation in rehabilitation programs” for the incarcerated.
"We propose as a Church that the government work with cooperatives, educational institutions, hospitals, civil society organizations, and the Church to set up rehabilitation programs for prisoners, former death row inmates and those released so that they can reintegrate into society,” said the statement.
The victims’ families, as well, should be supported with counseling services and other programs – and “extrajudicial killings” should be prevented.
“We recommend that the Church and the government work together to offer support and counseling services to the families of the victims,” said the statement. “This is in line with the conviction that we must hate sin, but not the sinner.”
The Church and the government should also collaborate to “promote practices of restorative justice,” said the statement, with a “focus on healing and reparation rather than punishment and retribution.”
With Zimbabwe’s recent official abolition of the death penalty, it became the 26th country in Africa to end capital punishment in some form.
Zimbabwe is a predominantly Christian country, with about 85% of its population identifying as Christian. About 6% of Zimbabwe’s Christians are Catholic, said data from the U.S. Department of State.
